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last mo.

Judge Rejects Home Office Bid to Delay Bell Hotel Planning Case

The dispute now heads to a mid‑October trial that will test whether housing asylum seekers at the site amounts to an unlawful change of use.

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Protests near the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which did not seek planning permission for change of use to become a migrant hostel

Overview

  • The full hearing is scheduled for October 15–17 after Mr Justice Eyre refused the Home Office’s request for a six‑week delay and a split hearing.
  • The Court of Appeal last week overturned a High Court interim injunction that would have forced 138 residents to leave the Bell Hotel, and it allowed the Home Office to join the case.
  • Epping Forest District Council will apply directly to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal after the Court of Appeal refused its request.
  • Somani Hotels plans to seek a certificate of lawful use to recognise the Bell’s operation as accommodation for asylum seekers.
  • Legal specialists say the outcome will turn on fact‑specific planning evidence, noting different thresholds for interim versus final injunctions and potential for regulatory clarification.